Improvised bomb injures 18 on London tube at rush hour

Londoners are growing used to terrorism and to the sight of heavily armed police patrolling the transport network.

15.09.2017

(Bloomberg) At least 18 people were injured when a suspected terrorist set off an improvised explosive device on a London tube train at rush-hour. It is the fifth attack this year.

Police appealed for photos and information, and had no word on the whereabouts of the perpetrator as a manhunt appeared to be underway. Images of a small fire in a white bucket with protruding wires were broadcast by Sky News, which said the device had probably failed to detonate fully.

Parsons Green station in west London was cordoned off amid witness reports of a stampede as passengers tried to flee the blast. Eighteen people were taken to hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening as the police reported most passengers suffered burns.

"My thoughts are with those injured at Parsons Green and emergency services who are responding bravely to this terrorist incident," Prime Minister Theresa May said on Twitter. May will chair an emergency meeting of officials at 1 pm local time.

US President Donald Trump said on Twitter that the "loser terrorist" was "in the sights of Scotland Yard." Last June he lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan for his response to the stabbing attacks on London Bridge.

Londoners are growing used to terrorism and to the sight of heavily armed police patrolling the transport network.

The police have stepped up the number of arrests and reported on Thursday that terrorism-related arrests had risen 68% over the past year.

This attempt comes after a series of attacks this year: assailants with vans and knives attacked passers by on Westminster Bridge and London Bridge in two separate strikes and a van was driven into worshippers outside a mosque in Finsbury Park. A suicide bomber attacked a concert venue in Manchester in May, killing more than 20 people including children and mothers.

Well-drilled medical staff declared a major incident at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, as TV footage showed images of injured passengers with bandages on their heads.
"There was a massive flash and flame that went up the side of the train, then an acrid chemical smell, then a big stampede," Chris Wildish, a witness, told Sky News. "The crush for the stairs was pretty heavy."